17 Oct 2014

CARROT CAKE CUPCAKES with WHIPPED COCONUT CREAM + CHOCOLATE

WOAH. Let's slow things down for a second to acknowledge that these cupcakes are vegan, gluten-free, and made with whole foods. THANK YOU, EARTH.

They're also made with leftovers. Yup. I bought a bag of carrots from the farmers market last week and juiced them, then I was left with all this beautiful carrot pulp. I didn't wanna just compost it so I thought "Hey! I could make carrot cupcakes!" Then I did that. I know, my stories are always so exciting. The cupcake recipe is pretty basic - mostly carrots, nuts, raisins and spices - but that don't stop some epic flavours from being created. Then I topped 'em off with vegan gold AKA whipped coconut cream. Technically coconut cream is not raw, but I give you a raw cashew cream option since I'm inclusive like that. I swirled the cream with raw chocolate sauce because... raw. chocolate. sauce.

I will be bringing one of these sexy orange babes - yes, I'm still talking about the cupcakes - to my friend's birthday dinner for her to *hopefully* enjoy. And the rest? They'll end up in my tummy, Jack's tummy, my parents' tummies and my other friends' tummies. I like the word tummy. It's innocent. I mean I feel like there's no such as an un-cute tummy, otherwise it wouldn't be called a tummy. Honestly when you come to this blog you never know what you're gonna get. Sometimes I think I'm eloquent and cover important topics and other times you get me rambling about stomachs. See? 'Stomach' sounds more... mechanical. Not as cute. Not as innocent... I do not know where is this going.

BACK TO THE FOOD STUFF. These cupcakes are moist, chewy, flavourful and delicious! You can whip 'em up in just a few minutes and share them with vegan sceptics to show how a-freaking-mazing our grub can be. Or if you're not vegan, just make them and see what ya think! Vegan food doesn't require a vegan palate to be appreciated. Jack and I took his friend out for dinner at this new plant-based restaurant on Main Street called Meet (hah... hah... veggie humour) and he was blown away by the flavours and textures of the all-vegan feast we ordered. He apparently was dreaming about the meal the next day. ALL I'M SAYIN' is that I ain't gonna judge you on your diet choices - but I KNOW your mouth can enjoy vegan food just as much as mine. So try out these cupcakes and see what healthy dessert tastes like! Just do it. Swoosh.

These are a great fall recipe because the main ingredient (carrots) is seasonal! I'm into that and really getting enthusiastic about the farmers market every weekend. I literally dream about them. We are lucky bums here in Vancouver because even after the many summer markets close, we have a winter farmers market! So we get easy access to local, organic, sustainably and happily harvested produce ALL YEAR. I cannot complain. Besides, carrots are cheap so this recipe is also inexpensive. Basically you have no reason not to make these. Get yo gorgeous booty in the kitchen right now.

To make the cupcakes: pulse the nuts into powder in a food processor. Add the dates and coconut oil and process until it all gets sticky. I added a little bit of water here so I ended up with a slightly gooey mixture before adding the rest of the ingredients. Add the rest of the ingredients and process until it's all evenly combined and still pretty sticky (you can do this last step in a bowl with your hands or spoon if you want). I like when there's whole raisins in the cupcakes so I added those after it was all mixed. Also feel free to add more spices! Press the "dough" into lined cupcake tins or papers, or really any shape you like! Set in the fridge for a couple hours at least. Or you could "bake" them at 250 degrees for an hour or two, so they get warm and intensify their flavour. This might also help them stick together more. Up to you.

Swirl the chocolate sauce into the whipped coconut cream and decorate your cupcakes with it! Alternatively, scoop on some coconut cream and then drizzle the chocolate over it. I sprinkled mine with cacao nibs too.

Hello Emily wondering how you do with chocolate I am quite new to being raw, have been vegan for 6 years and have felt great energy! But on a raw diet I tend to crush when my period comes if it comes before and after I am really weak I find that chocolate raw cacao really gives me a boost to monkey around and carry my highly athletic lifestyle, but I don't want to become dependent like people are on coffee anyways this is long and and much love sister...!

@Anonymous - I love chocolate when I am on my period! It's a great source of iron and zinc. But even though I crave it during my time of month (and it does make me feel better) I don't really desire that much outside of that one week anymore! I doubt you will become dependent on it as long as you are eating a nutritious balanced diet and not having too much chocolate :)

Incredible! That looks really delicious. That's like all the best tastes and ingredients put together. I mean carrots, coconut cream and chocolate. Wow! How can you beat that? Thanks for sharing that recipe! I wish you all the best!

oh, lord!i made these with a slight variation, used coconut nectar instead of maple syrup and added fresh vanilla bean, i topped with cashew cream (i couldn't thicken the coconut cream with the coconut milk i had), which i also used coconut nectar and vanilla bean in. ooooommmmmmmmgggggg. so delicious! thank you so much for that recipe, emily! yummmmmm...carm in california thanks you from the bottom of the empty cupcake liner. :)

I don't bake, so I'm pretty ignorant, but that sounds like a lot of heat for a long time. I get that these are not flour/yeast based and we're not really "Baking" them as we might for normal cupcakes…. but still, that seems like a lot of heat for a long period of time.

This look amazing!!! i love carrot on raw cakes (: and i will try baking some of them too. But i have a question.. i don't really bake and i don't really get the baking temperatures.. is it 250ºF or ºC?